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Herb · Easy to grow

Garlic chives

Allium tuberosum · also Chinese chives, Chinese leek, Gau choi

A tough perennial with flat, garlic-flavoured leaves and white starry flowers in late summer. It handles Adelaide's heat better than common chives and dies back a little in winter. Toxic to dogs and cats, so keep pets away from it.

When to plant where you live

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Add garlic chives to my garden

Planting times for other areas

Varieties (2)

  • Broad-leaf garlic chives (Chinese leek)Wider, more tender leaves for stir-fries and dumplings
  • Common garlic chivesFlat leaves and white flowers; sold as seed and seedlings everywhere

Neighbours

Grows well with

Keep away from

From seed to plate

  1. Plant

    20 cm apart, seed 6 mm deep. Full sun or part shade.

  2. Water

    Regular; tolerates short dry spells.

  3. Feed

    Light feed in spring and after a hard cut.

  4. Pick, from about 11 weeks

    Cut leaves to 3 to 5 cm.

Good to know

  • Cut the whole clump back hard and feed it to get fresh, tender leaves
  • Divide clumps every 2 to 3 years in late winter or early spring
  • Flower buds and flowers are edible; use them in stir-fries
  • Grow in a pot if you want to stop it spreading

Common problems

  • Self-seeding around the gardencut off flower heads before the seed ripens
  • Rust (orange spots on leaves)cut foliage to the ground; regrowth is usually clean
  • Thrips or aphids in dry weatherhose off and keep watered

If you use a garden chemical, follow the label exactly. Try organic options first, and ask the community or Plant Doctor if you're unsure.

Ask the garden helper about garlic chivesAny question, answered from the plant libraryHow others are growing garlic chivesQuestions, tips and harvests from the community

Wildlife

Good for: bees, butterflies.

Where this information comes from

Reviewed by AI cross-check (Claude), not a horticulturist on 29 Oct 2026. Version 1.